A recent reform of the Prior Reporting System will likely impact the procedural rights of Foreign Invested Enterprises (FIEs) following domestic arbitration. The 2017 Supreme People's Court Provisions on the Prior Reporting System dropped on 26 December, 2017. They became effective on 1 January, 2018. The Prior Reporting System originated in 1995. It has been expanded to apply to enforcement of a specific class of awards which have arisen from domestic arbitration proceedings.

The Prior Reporting System has served as an enforcement and annulment process for awards produced from either international arbitration or 'foreign-related' arbitration proceedings. Basically, enforcement courts must report 'up' to the High People's Court for that province before they may refuse enforcement. Likewise, High People's Courts which agreed to refuse enforcement had to report to the Supreme People's Court. Intermediate courts had served as the first instance forum for enforcement of both domestic and foreign arbitral awards. Deadlines for reporting or reply are sporadically observed. Resultant delays can drag enforcement out a year, or even longer.